Oliver, Simon (1968-Present)

Double bassist and tenor from Wales whose early memory of classical music was going to a concert by the Philharmonia Orchestra of London at Royal Festival Hall with his dad at the age of fourteen. That was in 1982. Ten years later, he would be a member of the orchestra.

He attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and even took some vocal lessons in addition to his work on double bass and starred as the title character in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

Following a two-year stint in Seville, Spain, he joined The Philharmonia. His first rehearsal with them was “Symphony No. 6” by Ludwig van Beethoven under the baton of Sir Charles Mackerras.

When soloists from the Philharmonia appeared at the Italian Culture Institute in London on 24^thMay 2006, Simon got a chance to flex his golden pipes whilst Neil Tarlton took over double-bass duties. The evening, hosted by Julian Curry, actor and wine connoisseur, was sort of a theme night, featuring wines from the home towns of the composers whose works were played.

On 30^th November 2009, Lorin Maazel conducted the orchestra in a program that comprised Zoltan Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta”, Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in B flat minor”, with Simon Trpceski at the keys.

Riccardo Muti took the helm and Joshua Bell was the soloist on 25^th March 2010 for a Beethoven double-header that consisted of the master’s “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major” and “Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55” (“Eroica”).

Simon took part in a special pre-concert interview on 4^th April 2011 when Danail Rachevconducted the orchestra in a concert of Johannes Brahms’ “Symphony No. 2 in D”, Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 3 in A” with guest soloist Ingrid Filter, and Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell overture.

In April and May 2011, Lorin Maazel and the orchestra embarked on an ambitious Mahler symphony cycle that took them to France, Germany, and Luxembourg. For more details, check out his and Mike Fuller’s Mahler blog, listed below.

Recordings on which Simon appears include: Johann Sebastian Bach’s chorale preludes to Komm, Gott, Schopfer, heiliger Geist, BWV 631 and Schmucke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 654, and !Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, BWV 552″ (“St Anne”); Brahms’ “Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25”; and, Arnold Schoenberg’s “Concerto after Monn’s Concerto in D major for Harpsichord”, “Concerto, Op. 42”, “Concerto, Op. 36”, “4 Lieder, Op. 22”, “Die Gluckliche Hand, Op. 18”, “Kammersymphonie No. 2”, Pelleas und Melisande, Op. 5, and “Variations, Op. 31”.

As for that tenor, Simon can be heard singing at Family Music Days, as well as karaoke, where apparently he does a mean imitation of Tom Jones.

Sources:

Oliver, Simon (1968-Present)

Navigate Feenotes

Search Feenotes

Please donate to keep the site alive